Court ignored data breach warning in 2014, then it happened again in 2025
Paul Cutbush's 2014 warning that court data was being processed in India was dismissed as minor.
A more than decade-old data security failure at Australia's Family Court has resurfaced. In December 2014, Paul Cutbush, a manager at transcription company Auscript, warned the court and federal police.
Case data was being processed in India without authorisation. The court dismissed it as technical, minor and inconsequential.
Cutbush raised concerns because court managers had not approved the offshore work and quality was poor. He waited two years for a response.
The court acknowledged Auscript had run a pilot operation in India for approximately seven months. It said the contract did not forbid it.
The contract actually did forbid offshoring without court approval. This year, the same thing happened again.
Transcription company VIQ Solutions allowed sensitive court files to be accessed in India. VIQ was liquidated after the breach became public.
Shadow Attorney General Michaela Cash and Greens leader David Shoebridge are both calling for an investigation.
- December 2014
- Initial warning
- approximately 7 months
- Auscript operation duration
- 11 years
- Years between breaches
- Michaela Cash, David Shoebridge
- Calling for investigation
Why it mattersIf courts fail to act on data security warnings, they cannot protect the privacy of people who share sensitive family matters in court proceedings.
AustraliaAustralians using the Family Court for sensitive matters like custody disputes or domestic violence may have had their case transcripts accessed by unvetted overseas workers without the court's knowledge or permission.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 2 h ago
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